


Nyctophobia

by CharityLambkin



Series: Science Bros Week 2015 [3]
Category: Iron Man (Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Arc Reactor Angst, Darkness, Gen, Hospitals, Hurt Tony, Nyctophobia, Protective Bruce, Recovery, Science Bros, Science Bros Week
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-11
Updated: 2015-06-11
Packaged: 2018-04-03 21:46:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 982
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4116025
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CharityLambkin/pseuds/CharityLambkin
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Science Bros Week day 3: darkness</p><p>Tony is recovering after arc reactor surgery and he can't sleep.  Bruce tries to help.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Nyctophobia

**Author's Note:**

> Science Bros Week day 3: Darkness

Tony couldn’t sleep.  The pain wasn’t too bad right now—definitely better than what he could remember of the time between the arc reactor removal surgery and the sternum reconstruction in Cho’s cradle.  But the doctors had kept him drugged pretty well so far.

It wasn’t the quiet—the silence was welcome for once.  They had him on anti-anxiety meds, too, at Pepper and Rhodey’s insistence, but that left him feeling sluggish.  And, despite the drugs, he couldn’t shake the feeling that something was lurking near, ready to attack, waiting for him to close his eyes.

“Hey, your heart rate’s going up.  What’s up?”  Bruce, stretched out in the lounger to his right, asked softly.  He fumbled with the thin blanket as he stood to squint up at the monitors just out of Tony’s sight.  He frowned and looked down at Tony when he didn’t get an answer.

“Can’t sleep,” Tony said.  His throat hurt and he swallowed dryly.  Bruce took that as a cue to offer him some water, and that helped calm his heart a little.

Bruce’s breathing was deep and even, and he tried to match his rhythm.  It was quiet, which was nice after so many doctors and specialists and friends coming in and out and in and out.  And…

“How are you here?”

Bruce snorted.  “Helen loves me.  Go to sleep.”

Tony tried, he really did.  Bruce rummaged through the blankets near his hand and hit the button for his pain meds, but his body didn’t want to cooperate.  Even though that wasn’t so bad because Bruce moved his chair over to his left side and gently massaged his hand, fondly growling “go to sleep” every now and again.

“Can’t sleep.  Monsters.”

“No monsters here but me.  I’ll keep the others away.”

“Would you fight Godzilla?”

Bruce squeezed his hand a little tighter.  “Go to sleep.”

“Just one question!  One!  Would you rather fight Godzilla or a dinosaur?”

Bruce sighed and let go of his hand to push his glasses up his nose.  But his hand was back to rubbing over his knuckles a second later, so that was allowed, too.

“First, I’m a pacifist.  Second, that’s not nearly enough information to judge.”

“A big dinosaur.”

Bruce laughed a little, and rubbed at the spot between his eyes.  But then he looked at the monitors again, and a little closer at Tony. 

“Are you afraid of the dark?” he asked.  He was serious.  There wasn’t any teasing in his voice.

“I’ve had a night light for a long time,” Tony admitted.

“Just a little nyctophobia,” Bruce murmured. He turned to rummage in his duffle bag.  Tony tried to turn his head to watch, but ouch, no, that was dumb.  But it was only a few seconds before Bruce came back into his field of vision, brandishing a thick plastic disk with a couple of blue LEDs in the center.  The plastic housing was painted with cheap red and gold acrylic.

“Is that supposed to be an arc reactor?” Tony asked.

“Yeah,” Bruce laughed.  He pressed it into Tony’s right hand so he could explore it with his fingers.  It was a thin plastic push light with a little clip so it could attach to the collar of a shirt.  “They sell them in the gift shop at the hospital,” Bruce continued.  “You have to see how much Iron Man crap they sell here.  Seoul _loves_ you, Tony Stark.  I even got myself an Iron Man toothbrush that sings Black Sabbath.”

“No way,” Tony said.  “Stop talking. My chest is going to explode if I laugh.”

Bruce chuckled, but he dug into his bag again. “Shh.  Ok, no more joking.”  He came back with a little duvytene bag and Tony’s breath caught in his throat.  Bright blue-white light spilled out as Bruce loosened the string and took out the arc reactor. 

He hadn’t seen it since right after the surgery, when Bruce assured him that it was safe in his care.  Then, he had screwed his eyes shut and demanded it be taken away, hidden, until he could process everything a little better, had some distance and time to think about what he’d done to himself.  Now, the light was cold, like molten ice, and the light burned holes in his retinas that he could still see when he closed his eyes.  He did close his eyes, though he could still see the light, so he felt it when Bruce slipped the toy out of his hand and gave him the arc reactor to hold instead.

And Tony blamed the sudden too-bright light and the burn in his eyes for the tears that fell down his cheeks. 

“Shh,” Bruce repeated as he smoothed the blankets over Tony’s shoulders.  “You’re ok.”  He turned up the oxygen, which helped, too.  “We’re going home tomorrow if you can get some rest.  If not, well, I have nowhere else to be.”

Tony took deep breaths and concentrated on the feel of the smooth metal beneath his fingers.  The unshielded reactor was bright, and the polished white walls threw the turquoise glow around the room. 

“You had this with you just in case?” Tony asked.

Bruce looked surprised.  “I haven’t let it out of my sight since it was handed to me.  And it’s not going to leave my sight until I hand it back to you in New York.”

New York.  New York was going to be home now.  Back to the Avengers Tower, to a life after Malibu and the arc reactor and the sound of the ocean on the cliff side. 

“What if this happens in New York?” Tony wondered aloud.

Bruce chuckled.  “Oh, it’s going to happen.  That’s pretty guaranteed.  New York is a bright city, though.  You’ll cope.”

“And I have you, right?”

“Yeah, you have me.  When it gets dark enough, you know there are monsters nearby.” 

 


End file.
